Captain reveals horror moment Bayesian £14m superyacht disappeared beneath waves in brutal storm" title="Captain reveals horror moment Bayesian £14m superyacht disappeared beneath waves in brutal storm" />
The heroic boat captain who helped rescue 15 tourists from a doomed superyacht has described how he watched the Bayesian disappear beneath the waves.
Karsten Borner revealed his boat was forced to avoid hitting the £14m vessel after a tornado tore through the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday morning.
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Borner says that his crew aboard the Sir Robert BP was buffeted by strong gusts of wind and heavy rains that drove them to anchor not far from Porticello harbor in Palermo.
The Bayesian It was said to have already been anchored nearby, but once the worst of the storm hit, it began to sink as it filled with water.
Borner told the media today: “We managed to keep the ship in position and after the storm ended, we realized that the ship behind us had disappeared.”
The captain says the Bayesian “went flat in the water and then went down.”
“There was a light and we saw that the boat was on its side and then we saw a triangle. So I think it went down again,” added Borner.
After noticing that the Bayesian was gone, Borner says his crew saw a flare in the water followed by rising smoke.
A full life raft drifted out to sea with 15 people inside, including a one-year-old baby.
Borner says they quickly notified the Coast Guard who rushed to guide the raft to safety.
Four people were injured and three required hospital treatment, Borner told reporters.
The mother of the rescued one-year-old boy, British tourist Charlotte Golunski, 35, says she was awakened by flooding water after the yacht was heavily damaged by the tornado.
Thunder and lightning reportedly left the yacht “bathing” moments before it began to fill with water, the couple said.
Charlotte managed to catch hold of young Sophia as the pair were forced into the Mediterranean as they battled the harsh the time and rough waters.
Father James Emsilie was also on board at the time of the horror and was unable to find his family after being swept overboard.
The mother told La Repubblica of her terrifying experience, saying: “I held her with all my strength, arms stretched upwards to prevent her from drowning.
“It was all dark. I couldn't keep my eyes open in the water.”
Seven other tourists and the crew were unable to reach the lifeboat.
Four British tourists are feared dead, including tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch who was on board
There was a light and we saw that the ship was on its side and then we saw a triangle. So I think it went down again
Karsten Borner
The lifeless body of one victim, a Canadian cook who was part of the crew, has already been removed from the Mediterranean, reports Ansa.
Two other American tourists are among the missing.
It is believed that the yacht was flooded by water after the a tornado off the coast of Porticello, near Palermoshortly before 5 a.m. local time on Monday morning.
Helicopters, divers, patrol boats and firefighters are helping in the desperate search for the remains.
Most of the missing were passengers on the £166,000-a-week charter.
The charterers said there were 12 guests and 10 crew members sailing at the time.
Who is Mike Lynch?
Former billionaire businessman Mike Lynch is still believed to be missing hours after a £14million luxury yacht capsized in a tornado off the coast of Sicily.
The tech tycoon, dubbed “Britain's Bill Gates”, was one of 22 people sailing on board the £166,000-a-week ship, the Telegraph reported this afternoon.
Lynch, 59, is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and sold technology and software companies, one of his largest being Autonomy Corporation.
He has also participated in Invoke Capital and the cyber security company Darktrace.
In 2006 he was awarded an OBE for his services to the company.
Born in Ilford, Lynch had a fireman father from County Cork and a nurse mother from County Tipperary.
Outside of work, Mike is married to wife Angela Bacares and the couple have two children together.
Angela is one of those who have been rescued on the superyacht.
In 2023, the Sunday Times Rich List put the couple's worth at £852 million.
But he was extradited to the US on fraud charges in 2023 with a judge setting his bail at £79m.
Just weeks ago, Lynch was acquitted of criminal charges by a jury in San Francisco after a 12-year legal battle over the $11 billion sale of his company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
The doomed yacht, named Bayesian, is also said to be owned by the Lynch family.
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